What Premier League stars are doing as coronavirus shuts down English football

Premier League stars will be told to stay away from clubs – and do fitness training on their own.

Club doctors have consulted each other on what to do with players during the suspension of professional football until April 3 at least.

Rather than have them at work for group training sessions, risking the coronavirus spreading at training grounds, they will keep fit alone and be tracked using GPS technology and heart rate monitors.

Liverpool have closed their Melwood training centre (PA)

Steve Bruce “We’ve set the personal programmes in place, they’re ready to go. That’s what the doctors of all the clubs are recommending.

“If the players are needing physio, or are having a course of treatment, I would think they’ll be coming into the training ground. Again, that’s something we’ll be advised on.

“I don’t think there’s any alternative is there? We were sitting watching the TV yesterday and the news came through from the Prime Minister, and we all thought, ‘Okay’. But even at that stage, we were saying, ‘Well, what happens if one of the players gets it?’ And then lo and behold, it was inevitable, wasn’t it?

Brendan Rodgers revealed that three Leicester players may have coronavirus (EMPICS Sport)

“We’ve been talking about what will happen with a four week suspension or more. The plan would be for the players to go away with their own individual programmes, to take them away from here because we are on top of each other.

“There are 70 or 80 of us in quite a confined space. If one of them got infected when they were away from the training ground and then came back in, clearly that would be an issue. It’s so contagious apparently.

“Up until yesterday, we thought we were fine (to play this weekend), but when the news broke (about Arteta) it was obvious the situation had changed. Once we heard about that, and Leicester and now Chelsea , we knew things had moved on.

“The disease is here. It’s in France, Italy, wherever, but it’s also here now. The players’ wellbeing will be paramount, but they’ve also got to think about the wellbeing of their families too. I’ll be guided by the medical advice and a chat with our doctors, but whether you stay in this country or go abroad, you run the risk (of contracting the disease).”